Lightening Struck
by Tired and Inspired
Summary: He's a son of Hermes from New York with an unusual power never before seen by the gods. She's a daughter of Apollo from Boston with a voice that can control almost anyone. What's one thing they have in common? Well, they're both on a suicide mission and Aphrodite is having too much fun playing with their feelings.
1. Dracaenae and Liastrygonians 001

**Chapter One**

It had happened again. Brandon Anderson had gotten in trouble.

It wasn't a very unusual thing, he was always getting into trouble. He had gotten used to the agrivated glares of teachers, long lectures, the hurt and dissapointed look in his mother's eyes. Usually, he could get off the hook with a few detentions, at worst maybe a suspension. A couple times he had gotten expelled, but that hadn't even been that bad. This time, though, Brandon thought it was different. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, he tugged at the collar of his uniform shirt, which was starting to choke him. He loosened up his tie and looked around the office. His electric blue eyes landed on the headmaster's office, where he was talking with an old teacher, with her gray hair pulled into a bun worthy of Professor McGonagall. His heart rate increased, he really screwed up this time. And he really hadn't even done anything.

Brandon took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, it wasn't working. His mother would be here soon, a fact Brandon dreaded. He tried to think of things that usually made him smile, like some good old Harry Potter humor, but all he could see was his mother's eyes, filled with dissapointed of her only son, her only child.

The Professor McGonagall wanna-be stood, shook hands with the headmaster, and stormed out of the office. She glared at Brandon for a moment, motioned for him to follow her, and stalked back into the headmaster's office, without a word. This had made him feel even worse. He wished people would stop and scream at him, that would be a whole lot better than the silence. When he stood, Brandon's legs were unsteady, he felt weak in the knees. After smoothing out his khaki pants, Brandon wobbled his way into the headmaster's office. It was decorated in school colors. The walls were painted maroon, with several deplomas and awards haning from the walls, along with a few paintings and a self-portrait. The floor was made from cherry wood, with leather love seats to occupy the room. The headmaster was sitting in a leather chair, in front of a big wooden desk. Two identical chairs sat on the other side of the desk. The teacher, whose name Brandon did not know, was standing next to Headmaster Doyle's desk. The only thing that seemed out of place was the left side of the wall, which was made compeletly out of glass, allowing a full view of the office. When Brandon shut the big wooden door, he wasn't surpirsed to find the armor of a medieval knight in the corner, surrounded by atheltic tropheys.

_Of course, _Brandon thought dryly, _go knights! _

"Have a seat." The teacher said in a low, clearly pissed-off voice. "You know you were lucky to have even been accepted into this school, with your record and our reputation as a school for proper young men." Brandon resisted the great temptation to roll his eyes. "But here at Xavier, we give people a chance, even if that person has gotten expelled six times, not to mention multiple suspensions and too many detentions to count. We here at Xavier thought we could change you and your trouble-making ways. We obviously thought wrong. Brandon, tell me, why do you keep getting in trouble?"

Brandon really wanted to have a intellectual comment that made sense, explaining that the situation wasn't his fault and dispite his reputation, they should believe he didn't do anything. But all his mind could put together was, "Umm, I dunno." He sounded like a caveman.

What's-Her-Face let out a low, irritated chuckle. "Brandon, you and I both know the answer to that question, so c'mon. Spit it out." Brandon raised his eyebrows up high. If she knew why Brandon couldn't stop causing damage,_ she _should just spit it out. Brandon himself was dying to know. The teacher sighed, Brandon noticed then that she had like, really manly hands. They were large and wrinckled, and obviously not well moisturized. She probably got called man-hands in high school. Did her husband, Brandon wondered, have woman hands? "It's your father."

The words had surprised Brandon, he leaned back in his seat and though about that. Was it his father? Did the thought of him make Brandon want to hurt someone? No, that wasn't it. Brandon had _never _wanted to hurt anyone. Besides, he hadn't thought of his father in years. "I seriously doubt that's the problem." Brandon tried to put as much honesty in those words as he could. He desperatley needed them to sound more sincire than they actually were. Brandon didn't want to end up in some counciling home for derranged teenage boys who had no father and therefor wanted to hurt people.

"Oh but I do." The man-hands teahcer said, leaning forward to get a good glare in at Brandon. "Think about it, you don't know anything about him. For all you know, he could be a drunk living on the streets, or even dead."

"Or he could be extremely sucessful and happy." It made Brandon freaking pissed that people assumed the worst about his dad. What was wrong with positive thinking? Isn't that what the people here are trying to teach? Even though he left Brandon and his mother soon after he was born, Brandon felt the need to defend his father. Brandon's father couldn't be that bad a person, after all, if his mother had fallen in love with him.

The teacher leaned back, frowning, and she then turned her head to Headmaster Doyle. "I think we should get rid of him." It gave Brandon shudders, to hear her say that. It wasn't, _We should expell him, _but _we should get rid of him. _Did she mean expell? Something about her wicked smile to Brandon that no, she did not mean expell.

Headmaster Doyle, who had yet to say a word, stared up at the teacher as if he had just realized something extremely important. He than stood, and walked next to the knight, placing one hand on the shoudler peice. Brandon had noticed a limp in the way he walked, like there was something wrong with his leg, or he couldn't walk normally. That was strange, because he didn't look very old, maybe around thirty, or a little older. "I think, we should give him a chance and hear his side of the story." The headmaster rubbed his beard and squinted his brown eyes and gave Brandon a nod.

"I've told you this." Brandon said, exasperated. "I was walking down the hall when this big kid came up to me and started to shove me around. I told him I didn't want any trouble, and to just back off. Then this kid starting swearing at me, in some sort of language, I don't even know what it was. And he hit me in the chest, I landed on the ground, and then there was just this bright light, almost like lightening. I closed my eyes, so I wouldn't get blinded. When I opened them again, the kid was gone."

The teacher hissed, literally hissed, at Brandon. "Liess...boy, why don't you tell the truth?" She advanced on Brandon, making him take a step back. He noticed something the practically made his eyes fall out of the socket. He did a double take, than a triple take. This teacher, she wasn't human. Brandon saw instead of having two legs, she had two _snake tails. _This lady kept hissing, kept moving slowly towards Brandon. He looked at Headmaster Doyle, as if to say, _You notice this too right? _

Appearntly, he did, because he pulled a sword out from the knight's armor and threw it at Brandon, who caught it at the hilt. It wasn't silver, like he thought most swords were. It was actually bronze, but he didn't have time to ponder why, the snake lady was closing in on him. Brandon let his instincts take over, as he expertly moved around the snake lady, blocking her attacks. She lunged for him, and he step-sided, shoving his sword in her middle, and then twisting it for effect. A pile of gold dust erutped, and the Professor McGonagall wanna-be was no more. Brandon turned to the headmaster. "What the hell was that?"

He let out a sigh. "I'll explain later, but right now, we need to get you out of here. There will be more monsters coming, and you're their target. Don't lose that sword, it might just save your life. Now follow me." Headmaster Doyle said, walking away. But this time he moved much faster, but it looked like he was trotting, like a horse does, but with two legs. Brandon didn't even have time to think about it as he went to follow him. "I told your mother to meet us outside in the parking lot. She has a few of your things and she's going to drive us as close to camp as she can."

"Camp? What camp?" Brandon asked as he pushed the doors open at the front exit. He was surpirsed no one had noticed the giant bronze sword that he was carrying at his side, or the fact that the headmaster of the school was trotting like a horse on two legs.

"Like I said, I'll explain as much as I can in the car. But we have to hurry-ah, there's your mother." He said, looking off to his right and then trotting off, Brandon following him obidently. He saw his mother, standing there right outside her car. Her sandy blonde hair, which Brandon hadn't inherited, was blowing in the wind and her green eyes were filled with worry. She nearly passed out when she saw the sword in Brandon's hand.

"Alec, please tell me you didn't let him fight any monsters?" Brandon's mother, Aubrey, said. Had everyone known about the monsters but Brandon?

Headmaster Doyle, or Alec, sighed, and gave Aubrey a sheepish smile. "Maybe a little dracaenae? But besides the laistrygonian that was it!" Alec put his hands up in defense as he climbed into the back seat of Aubrey's car, Brandon and his mother following the pursuit.

"Wait." Brandon said, he was stating to catch on. "You mean dracaenae and laistrygonian as in the ones from Greek mythology? You mean the ones that aren't real?" There was a bit of an accusing tone in Brandon's voice, like he had a feeling things were about to get crazy and his mother and headmaster would tell him that they are in fact real.

He was right. "Brandon, I know this may be a little bit of a surprise, okay, yeah, that's an understatement. This is a huge, life-altering surprise, but Greek mythology isn't fake, it's one-hundred precent real. In fact, you're father, well, he is a god." Alec said from the backseat.

Brandon turned to look at him like he was crazy, but he realized that Alec wasn't wearing pants. He didn't need to. He had furry little goat legs and hooves. No wonder he was walking with a leg problem. He did a triple take for the second time that day, and again found that nothing had changed. He decieded to believe Alec. "And you would be, a faun, right? Wait, no, a satry! Faun's Roman."

Alec smiled. "Right you are, my boy. Alec is Greek for protector, which is what I am. I'm a protector of what we call demigods, or half-bloods. A person who has one godly parent, and one mortal parent. It's my job to get you to a safe place, which is what I'm doing right now. I'm taking you to a place called Camp Half-Blood, a place for young heros like you to train."

"To fight monsters?"

"To fight monsters." Alec confirmed Brandon's suspisions.

"Well, won't the people back at school, the mortals, you call them, won't they notice that we're missing? I mean, I caused a scene and you're the headmaster of the school, and I kind of made a teacher disintigrate, won't people notice that?"

Alec shook his head. "Nope. There is this thing called the Mist. It's like a magical veil that makes it so mortals, even demigods sometimes, don't see the abnormal things. Like, for example, Mrs. Leetos. She was the teacher you blew up, or disintigrated. She will be replaced by a new teacher and no one will know the difference, and they will think that it was the other teacher there all along. There will also be a replacement for me, and everyone will forget about the whole scene you caused, and the laistrygonian, all because of the Mist."

"So who's my godly parent?" Brandon asked eagrly. This was exciting to him, he would finally learn who his father was.

But Alec just shook his head again. "Sorry kid, I can't tell you that. I don't even know. You're going to have to wait until your father claims you. Hey look, we're almost there." Alec said, looking out the window when he noticed the dissapointed look that spread across Brandon's face. "How old are you again?"

"Sixteen." Brandon and Aubrey replied at the same time. Brandon had just realized that his mother hadn't said an entire word the whole ride. He looked over at her, tears were silently falling down her face. Her hands gribbed the wheels so hard that her knuckles turned white. "Mom, are you okay?" His voice was gentle, like he was trying his hardest not to upset her more.

She just shook her head. Brandon was getting tired of that gesture pretty quickly. "Brandon, when you go to this camp, you are going to be protected by boundaries. You'll be safe when you're at this camp. You'll have the choice to either stay there just for the summer, or be a year round camper. Brandon," she glanced at him before returning her eyes back to the road. "Brandon, I love you sweetie, more than anything, and you know that. But I think it would be much safer for you to stay there year round, I just don't want you to get hurt and-" Her voice caught on a sob.

"Mom," Brandon said softly, putting a hand on her shoudler, "we don't have to make a choice right now. I have an entire summer to think about it. And hey, if I'm training to kill monsters here, than I'll be able to fight them back home. Okay?" Aubrey nodded, feeling foolish that her teenage son had to console her like a toddler. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too." She looked and Brandon and smiled. She felt proud of herself for a moment. She had raised a handsom, smart, and nice young man. All by herself. She looked back at the road and stopped the car. "This is as far as I can take you." She lifted a bag from out of the back seat and handed it to Brandon. "This is all of your stuff, be careful. When you get out of this car, you are going to run as fast as you can to the top of that hill, okay? Alec will be here to protect you, so don't worry too much." She leaned in a gave her son a kiss on the cheeck. "Be safe."

Brandon smiled. "I will, love you." He turned to look at Alec. "C'mon, goat man, let's go." And with that, they both climbed out of the car, leaving a heartbroken mother there alone. She put the car in reverse and drove away. There was nothing left for her to do. Her baby had grown and was now out of her hands.

Alec and Brandon ran as fast as they could, but it wasn't fast enough. Out of no where, a large black dog ran right into Brandon's side. He stood up quickly, but he was still in a daze, he could hear some sort of music. He looked to see that a very nervous Alec was playing an instrument, Brandon saw no use to it. He looked around for the creature, but he couldn't find it. "Damn hellhounds." He had heard Alec mutter under his breath in between his playing. Then there was a large force on Brandon's side, and he was on the ground again, but this time he didn't get up. He looked and saw a pair of red eyes, like fire burning. The black creature was leaping over Brandon. He thrust his sword in the air, hoping to do some damage to it. His sword went right through the hellhound's middle, and it erupted into gold dust. Brandon decieded just to lay there, he felt completely drained and didn't really want to get up. It was comfortable, after all. Sitting on the soft grass, and there was a large pine tree there on top of the hill.

A girl's face appeared above him, she was saying things that he couldn't comprehend. Her face was filled with concern as she turned and talked to someone. Then she gave a small smile. That was the last thing Brandon saw before he blacked out.

* * *

**A/N- I re-wrote this _six _times. Gods, you have no idea how hard it was for me to right this chapter. But I liked it, and I hope you do too! Review please! It makes my heart sore with butterflies! Constructive critism is welcome, just try not to be too mean, I'm a softie. You'll notice that my OC's name was Cole, and that I changed it to Brandon. Why? I dunno, I felt like Brandon was a better name. Although, Brandon is Irish for little raven, and Cole is Irish for warrior. Let's just pretend it's the other way around, okay? **


	2. Nectare and Tours 002

Brandon wasn't dead, and yet he wasn't sure if that was an entirely good thing or not. If he was going to be fighting monsters, like whatever that _dog _thing was, all the time, than he wouldn't mind an enternal sleep. Or whatever happens when you die. He opened his eyes slowly, his limbs felt like lead and his head was throbbing. The light in the room was too bright, he had to squint to make out the basic shapes of the room. He was lying on a bed, a pretty comfortable one too, and there was a person standing at the foot of the bed, examining him. "Oh, good. You're awake." The person said, in a femine, soft voice. She moved to grab something off a table, and Brandon's eyes ajusted to the light in the room. The girl standing in front of him was a pretty blonde wearing an oragne shirt that said Camp Half-Blood, holding out a cup for Brandon to grab. "Here you go." She said with a smile. "It's the drink of the gods, so don't drink too much of it. It'll burn you up."

The thought of a drink burning up Brandon's body almost terrified him to not drink it. With an encouraging nod from the girl, he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. It tasted like the homemade ice cream he and his mother would make in the middle of winter, when all of the local ice cream shops were closed. Warmth spread throughout his entire body and he felt better instantly. He wanted to take another large gulp, but the girl's warning was ringing in his ears. He put the cup down. If the drinks were dangerous here, he didn't want to think about the monster-fighting weapons. Or the monsters. "Thank you." Brandon said with a smile. "I'm Brandon, Brandon Anderson." He mentally smacked himself for sounding like James Bond.

The girl smirked. "I'm Camden, Camden Walker." She put his hand out for him to take. "I'm a daughter of Apollo, the god the sun, music, prophecy, and, of course, healing. I'm here to heal you." She said with a big bright smile, Brandon thought it to be almost blinding.

"Oh, well, thanks, but I don't think there's anything wrong. That, drink stuff really helped." But appearntly, he was wrong, because as he moved to sit up, there was a sharp pain in his side. He remembered that to be the place where the monster rammed into him.

Camden put on a face. "Yeah, I'm going to have to contridict that. And it's called nectare, by the way." She walked around to the side of the bed and put her hands on her hips. "Please don't take the following sentence the wrong way, but I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." Brandon was suddenly glad that he had tried to play football at Xavier, and therefor had to work out and build muscle. He was proud of his little four-pact, Taylor Lautner can suck it.

He also enjoyed Camden's blush when he did. She shook it off though, and examined the large cut that ran from the end of his ribs to the top of his hip bone. She put her hand on his ribs, to make sure they weren't broken. "Does that hurt?" She asked, putting pressure on several of his bones. Brandon shook his head and tried to hide his smile. "Well, nothing's broken." She said with a look of concentration of her face. She moved her hand above the cut and closed her eyes, muttering words in a language Brandon wasn't fimilar with. The pain in his side dissolved, and the cut closed. Camden rose with a smile. "Thanks dad!" She turned back to Brandon. "That was easy, the cut wasn't that deep. Just take it easy, okay? No more hellhounds for you. Now put your shirt back on."

Brandon obeyed. "Is that what that giant dog thing was, a hellhound?"He stood, and looked down at Camden. Literally looked down. She was about, five feet, five inches. Dwarfed by Brandon's six feet, four inches.

Camden started to walked towards the door. "Yeah, there's a lot of monster we need to fight. The thing about all those monster in the stories is that they don't die. They just reform, they come back to reign more terror."

"That sounds cheerful."

"Chiron and Mr. D want to talk to you. As you may guess, Chiron is the centaur from the stories, and Mr. D is Dionysus. I advice you not to be rude, no matter how many times Mr. D gets your name wrong. I've been here for six years and he still never gets my name right. He calls me everything from Carrie to Campell. It's awful." Camden rolled her eyes and pushed the door open and walked out to the pourch, Brandon followed, exciting to meet his first Greek god.

He was dissapointed.

When he got out into the sunlight, Camden turned and smiled. "I'll give you a tour when they're done." And then she ran away, almost as fast as lightening. Brandon turned to find a man in a wheelchair with a large blanket over his legs. Next to him sat a little chubby man in a Hawiian shirt drinking a Diet Coke. He could guess which one was the centaur and which one was the god. "Sit, please." Said Mr. D. "So what's your name?"

"Brandon Anderson." He said, sitting down on a chair next to Chiron, and across from Dionysus.

"Well, Brian, I am Dionysus, the great god of wine. I am one of the twelve Olympians, and therefor your superior." Camden was right, this guy was awful. The god continued to talk to Brandon (or Barack, Brody, Berry) about the camp and 'blah blah blah' and 'break the rules and you'll get eaten by harpies, blah blah blah.' Brandon thought it was fair to say that this place was terrifying. Brandon just zoned out on their drabbling. He would ask Camden later.

"And you will be staying in the Hermes cabin until your godly parent claims you, which, since last year, shouldn't take that long. I advise you to watch your belongings. Hermes is the god of theives, and his children are constantly reminding us of that." Chiron said, moving around in his wheelchair. Brandon wondered what he looked like without that wheelchair. How tall was he? What color was his...horse part? He realized that this was actually something valuable.

"What happened last year?" Brandon asked, sitting up in his chair. He couldn't really think of something really big that could happen at this camp besides getting attacked by a bunch of monsters, but Chiron had said the camp had been protected by a magical border.

"The Titan war." Chiron said grimly. "It was a hard battle, many campers died defending Olympus, which ended up completely destroyed. But we prevaled, defeating Kronos and his army. A leader of Camp Half-Blood, a son of Poseidon, saved Olympus, the gods, and every aspect of Greek culture. The gods wanted to reward him with immortal life, but he declined. All he wanted was for the children of gods to be claimed by the age of thirteen, and to treat their children with respect. Also to treat the minor gods with the same respect." Chiron sighed. "We have to try to get all the demigods here, safe and claimed by thirteen."

"That seems fair enough." Brandon grumbled, noticing that Mr. D had gone quiet.

"Yes, it is very fair, but it is a lot of work. It's very dangerous to get demigods to camp safely, with all the monsters, as you can tell. Now come, let me bring you to the Hermes cabin. From there, Camden will give you a tour of the camp." Chiron rose, and Brandon wasn't dissapointed to see that his horse part was brown.

* * *

"So is he hot?" Kayla Johnson, one of Camden's sisters asked as soon as she made her way into the gold cabin and plopped down on the bed. The sound of her sister's voice hurt her ears. Camde, of course, loved her sister, she loved all her siblings and her father. But that didn't mean she couldn't think they were extremely annoying, all the time.

"Shut-up Kayla! I'm freaking tired as crap. I had to go to the arena and freaking fight an Ares camper, I got destroyed. Then I had to go and pick strawberries for three hours with the stupid Demeter kids because I accidently lite half of them on fire, and then I had to go and heal this kid who looks so pale and he has this giant cut on his side and now I have to-"

"Wait," Kayla interupted, earning a glare from her half-sister. "You said the cut was on his side, right?" Camden nodded. "Did you get to see him shirtless?

In all of Camden's exhaustion, she stood, with a pillow in her hand, and starting hitting her sister with it. Kayla rose, laughing, and started to defend herself with the pillow. "I swear to Zeus, I'll kick your ass if you ask me one more question about this kid's looks!" Camden shouted, abandoning the pillow for a moment and tackling her sister. This was nothing new, the two fought like this all the time. Kayla was just laughing, so much that Camden just got angrier but never failing to beat her sister down with the pillow. She knew it didn't hurt her, but nothing made her feel better than beating her sister over the head with a pillow.

"Alright guys, that's enough." Will Solistice, the cabin consuler said, walking over to his two sisters. "Guys, guys! GUYS!" No amount of shouting could stop them. Will sighed, and picked his struggling sister off the ground and put her down on her bed. "Camden, say you're sorry to Kayla for attacking her."

"Kayla I'm sorry for attacking you." Camden told her grinning, unharmed sister.

"Kayla tell Camden you're sorry for harrassing her." Will said sternly to his youngest sister, who sighed and gave Camden her big puppy dog eyes.

"Camde, I'm sorry for harrassing you about the new guy."

"You should be." Camden said, falling back down on her bed, filled with exhaustion. She let her lids fall over her eyes, and she slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep. For about three seconds before Will woke her, telling her to get her butt up and give Brandon a tour of the camp. Fun. She rolled out of her bed and stalked out of her cabin. The journey to the Hermes cabin was a long and dangerous one. She almost tripped on a rock and died a total of three times. This kid better apericate the fact that she's risking her life just to give him a tour. She burst right into the cabin, not even bothering to knock. What was the point, they'd let her in anyways. Camden remebered the six hours she'd spent belonging to this cabin before being claimed. They sucked. Everyone stole her hair elastics. "Hello, Hermes cabin! I come in search of Brandon." She said, trying her hardest to appear awake.

Brandon stood in the middle of the room, setting up his sleep bag on the floor. He smiled at Camden and she realized right then that he was gorgeous. His dirty blonde hair was cropped, his eyes were the brightest most beautiful blue she'd ever seen. His smile was blinding, yet it was impossible for Camden to tear her eyes from his beautiful grin. His face was strong, and yes, she did notice his toned middle. "Hey, I'll be right there." He took his sling bag with him, a smart decision, considering the people that resided in that cabin. He walked towards her, and together they made their way out of the cabin. "So, where are we going first?" Brandon asked with a dazzling smile.

Camden returned it, praying for the first time to Aphrodite that there wasn't anything stuck in her teeth. The thought made her want to shudder. "First, I'll show you all of the lovely cabins." She turned and motioned to the cabin they justed exited. "This is the Hermes cabin."

"I know, I just walked out of it." He smiled down at her, obviously amused.

She smiled, and moved onto the next cabin. "This giant RV of a cabin is the Hephaetus cabin. He's the god of blacksmiths and medal working stuff." She rolled her eyes and moved on, walking towards her own cabin. "And this is the greatest cabin ever, in the world. It's the Apollo cabin." She made a dramatic gusture towards her cabin. "Some people say it's hard to look at, so try not to get blinded by it."

Brandon blocked the light coming from the golden cabin. It was almost like looking at the sun. "Doesn't the light bother you guys?"

Camden raised her eyebrows. "You're talking to the daughter of the sun god. I only wear sunglasses because they look cool." She said with a smile, and continued to show Brandon the cabins. Brandon wasn't impressed by the Zeus and Hera cabins, they lacked imagination. He did, however, like the Apollo, Poseidon, Athena, and Artemis cabins. The Aphrodite cabin was too pink and the Ares cabin scared him. He wasn't a big fan of war. Camden continued to show him the mess hall, the Amphitheater, the climbing wall (the lava looked interesting) the arts and crafts area, and the volleyball court. "I'll have you know," Camden said with a smile, "that the Apollo cabin is undefeated in volleyball."

With a chuckle, Brandon picked the ball up from the sand and gave her a skeptical look. "Is that a challenge?"

Studying him, Camden shook her head. "Nope, at least not for now. For all I know, you could be my brother. You look like an Apollo kid." She turned to walk away, and Brandon noticed the number 7 on the back of her shirt, with 'Apollo' written above it. Was it possible that he was a son of Apollo? Maybe, but if so, he'd have to stop thinking about how pretty Camden was, because that would be incest, and that's illegal. He kind of hoped he wasn't Apollo's kid, and Camden was having the same thoughts.

"I'll take you up on that, after I know who my father is!" He said, jogging to catch up with her. While Camden was showing him the arena, Brandon noticed the leather necklace with beads and a sun hanging aroud her neck. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to it.

Camden looked at him, and then looked down to her necklace. "Oh, it's the camp necklace. Every camper gets a new bead at the end of the summer, when you deciede to stay or go home. I have six, this is my seventh year." She showed him the trident, the Golden Fleece, the Labyrinth, and the Empire State Building with all the names around it. She gave him the stories that follow, too. "Even though I'm from Boston, I would chose this bead with the symbol of my least favorite city over Monser seats any day."

Brandon studied each of the beads carefully. "Wow, this Percy guys sounds awesome."

Camden just smiled at him. "One of my good friends, but he's dating my best friend, Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, so I have to hit him everytime he does something stupid." _Like when he_ accidently _called that girl hot. _Camden thought with a smile. Her friends, even though she loved them, were so stupid sometimes.

"What's this?" Brandon asked, motioning to the sun pendent, in between the maze and the Golden Fleece.

The smile feel from Camden's face, and her face lost it's golden glow. If she were squeezing her jaw shut any tighter, it'd snap. "I don't want to talk about that." She said between gritted teeth, looking straight ahead. She turned to look Brandon in the eye. "Please?"

Brandon put his hands up to show that he ment no harm, and gestured to his left. "Why don't you show me the armory?"

Grateful with the new distraction, Camden let a small smile slip and continued on. "The armory is filled with a bunch weapons made of Celestial bronze, it only kills monsters and unfortunatley demigods, so one, be careful, and two, don't go attacking mortals." Brandon couldn't help but notice how beautiful Camden's smile was. Also how creepy he'd be if she was his sister. "So you don't have any idea about who your parent is?"

The conversation quickly turned serious. "Nope." His voice was full of resentment and hurt, Camden could tell this easily.

"Hey, don't get too upset about your dad. Up on Olympus, they have very strick rules about not helping their kids out with the difficulties. They like it when we help ourselves. Being demigods, we're going to face a lot of problems and a lot of dangerous situations, much more than any mortal. But we have to remeber, _you_ have to remeber not to get mad when your dad doesn't come down from Olympus to kill any monster that comes within five feet of you. Yes, our parents love us even though they're not great at showing it. They wish they could help us, but we need to figure out our own lives."

Brandon considered that for a moment, looking down at his feet. "What if my father doesn't claim me, what do I do then?"

"They have to claim you, it's part of the deal. We save Olympus from the Titans, and they treat their kids and minor gods with resepect." Camden looked up at Brandon and smiled. "You never know, you could be a child of-" Before Camden could even finish the sentence, a glowing light appeared above Brandon's head. Camden smiled, and gestured to the light coming from the air above his head. He looked up and was surprised to see what he saw. It was a sandal, with a wing on it. "A child of Hermes." Camden finished with a smile.

"All hail Brandon Anderson, child of Hermes, god of messengers, trade, and theives."

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**Sorry for the wait guys, I've been super busy with school and work and lacrosse and cheerleading stuff and (insert groan) I'm just so busy! Anyways, please review! I got two reviews last chapter, one because I asked her to check the story out :( Not very pleasing results. It's really easy to review. Just click the pretty blue button (I believe it's new) and write me a nice little note, telling me how awesome (or terrible, preferrably awesome though) this chapter was. I'll even answer questions.**

**And now I have an idea :D**

**The first person who reviews this chapter gets to have their own personal character put in the story, as one of Camden or Brandon's friends! If you are the first person, I will PM you with the form and some rules. You must have an account though, because I can't PM you if you don't. **

**Thank you, have a nice day!**


	3. Archery and a Heart to Heart 003

She can remember it like it was yesterday.

All the scents, all the noises, everything. It can all be brought back with a single smell, touch, thought. It hits her like a ton of bricks, and it crushes her and suffocates her like she was stuck underneath all the weight.

Camden was only nine when it happened. The day started like any other hot, summer day in the suburbs of Massachusetts. She woke up late, around ten in the morning. The first thing she did was change into her bathing suit and jump in the pool. Her brother, Ashton was there, making sure she didn't drown. There wasn't really a point to that though, seeing Camden was a far better swimmer than Ashton. If anything, he would hit his head in the deep end and Camden would have to save his life.

So there she was, jumping into the deep end with her brother, laughing. It was happy, but of course, it became serious. "Ashton, will you tell me about Daddy?"

The young girl's question made Ashton freeze where he was. Camden memorized every detail on his face. His blonde hair was sticking to his forehead, his blue eyes filled with some sort of anger. His jaw was strong, but he looked at his sister with a gentle expression. "Cammie, you're a big girl right?" Camden nodded with a big smile on her face, enjoying the compliment. "Do you remember all the myths I would tell you when you were going to bed? They always helped you fall asleep?"

Camden's smile grew bigger, and Ashton's heart ached for his little sister. How hard was it to grow up not knowing who your father was? Ashton often wished he never knew who is father was, but was that easier than knowing? "Yep! All the ones about the Greek gods! Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hades, Athena, and all those other ones too!"

Ashton picked his little sister up out of the water and looked towards the house, where his mother was sitting, probably thinking about the same man who broke her heart. He sat on the chair and dragged her on his lap. He never realized that to Camden, he was like her father and brother. "Well, Cammie, they're not myths, they are the real deal. And Daddy, well, he's Apollo." Ashton immediately regretted it. He had just told his nine year old sister that the Greek gods were real. He had just changed her life forever. There could have been a few more years to spare, right? The monster didn't come after Ashton until he was thirteen. For three years he's managed to protect his sister from them, he could take another four, right?

But the truth was, he couldn't. Their mother had been trying to get them to Camp Half-Blood for years, but Ashton had always said Camden was too young. He didn't have much time left.

The nine year old's expression was unforgettable. Her mouth hung open, her eyes were bulging out of her head, and her arms fell limp at side. Ashton wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. "That. Is. So. COOL!" She obviously thought it was a good thing.

"And since Daddy's a god, we have special powers. But with great power comes great responsibilities. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that, okay?"

"I swear that I won't ever forget!" She held her pinkie out, and Ashton wrapped his much larger pinkie around it, a silent promise that, between the two siblings, would never be forgotten.

"Cammie, since we're demigods, half mortal, half god, we have to go to this place called Camp Half-Blood. It's a place for people just like us. We'll meet children of other gods, and we'll meet some of Daddy's other children. We'll stay there all year round for a while." Ashton had never been to the camp himself, but as Camden would later find out, her father had told him everything.

Camden's head was buzzing with questions. Why did Daddy have other children? Why didn't Daddy marry Mommy? She asked the most important one on her mind. "Won't Mommy miss us?"

Ashton smiled sadly at his little sister, at his life and joy. This gave him a certain maturity that most guys his age didn't have. None of them felt this way about their sister. None of them often thought about how they have to protect her every day. None of them had to think about the fact that he might have to lay his on life down so his little sister could live one. "Of course Mommy's going to miss us. But sometimes people have to make choices that might not be easy for them, but it the end, it will be worth it."

A whack on the head brought Camden back to current time. "OW! Kaiya, what the freak was that for?" Camden asked, holding the back of her head where she'd been hit. "Damn, you Hephaestus kids can hit hard."

Kaiya Ortiz rolled her eyes at her friend. She lamely lifted up her bow and arrow with a frown. "You have to help me with my archery!"

"Why don't you ask Will for help?" Camden asked, with a teasing tone in her voice. The result was satisfactory. Kaiya looked down at her feet and blood rushed to her face. It must sucked for Kaiya, being friends with this terrible person. "I bet Will would just _love _to help you."

Kaiya looked up and glared at Camden. "I can't wait to kick your butt in the arena." That earned an eye roll from Camden, even though she knew it was true. Kaiya could beat almost all the Ares kids with a sword. She was powerful with Celestial bronze in her hands. Unfortunatley, it had to be in the shape of a sword or javalin. So everyday, Camden has to help Kaiya with her archery, and there has been no improvement. Although Camden can't complain, Kaiya just taught her how to correctly hold a sword. "Besides, Will can't help me, he's in the arena right now. Trust me, I'd much rather have him help me than you."

"Thanks, Kaiya, good to know that I'm your first choice in the situation." Camden rolled her eyes and mummbled, "_Third wheel._" under her breath. She pullled back her arrow and realeased, with a satisfying noise. The arrow went flying straight ahead, faster than the eye could see until it was stopped by the middle of the target. Camden grinned.

"Alright, let me propose a question for you." Kaiya followed Camden's motions, but the arrow went three feet and fell to the ground. "That new kid, Brandon, the son of Hermes, you've spent some time with him, right?" Camden nodded. "Well, I've seen him in the arena, and he's one of the best I've seen since Percy and Luke."

"Can we stop talking about him please?" Camden said, as another one of her arrows hit it's mark. She put her bow down on the ground and sat criss-cross apple-sauce. Like a big kid. "Now let me see you shoot." Kaiya sighed, but obeyed. She pulled back the bow and focused. Her brown eyes narrowed at the bull's eye, and she released. The arrow went flying, and Camden stood up, ready to cheer when the arrow hit the mark. She had her legs wide open in a defensive stance, her arms were half-up, and she had her mouth open, ready to shout words of joy, for finally her pupil had succeeded.

And then the arrow fell short three feet.

_"Chalia!"_ Camden shouted in Greek. "That one was so close!" She sprang up in the air and then landed on the ground with a thud.

"Why are you angry?" Kaiya asked as Camden grabbed onto her arm and climbed up from the ground. . "It's my shot that didn't make it."

Camden grinned and threw her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Oh, you dear, sweet, innocent, children of Hephaestus. You will never learn how we Apollo children work." She said dramatically, as is Kaiya was a child who just asked Camden how babies were made. "We are very intense people. We like to win. _A lot. _I guess you could say we're perfectionist. And, well, if I'm teaching you archery, and you're not good at it, how will that reflect upon me?" Camden said jokingly.

Kaiya scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Your just so modest Cam, I wish I could be like you."

"Yeah, well. You're not the only one." She picked up her bow and shot another arrow. Bull's eye. "Now try again, but this time pull your arm back further. You're not putting enough strength into it. Pull it back as far as you can, archery requires strength, just like sword fighting. Good, that's good." Camden watched Kaiya with careful eyes, looking for errors. "Put your elbow down a little, don't let it go above your ear, that makes the arrow go towards the ground. Right at your ear, yeah, like that." Camden looked towards the target, her two arrows were still in the middle. "Line the tip of the arrow up with the target, and then let go."

Kaiya held her breath as she did, and the arrow buzzed right on by. This time, it didn't stop short, or fly over head, or go thirty feet to the left. It went straight, like, on the target. Sure, it didn't land any where near Camden's, but on the bottom on the target, loosely hanging there. Camden was impressed, that was the first time she's got it on the target for the first time in a month. "I did it!" Kaiya shouted in victory, throwing her hands in the air.

"I knew you could do it!" Camden shouted, jumping into Kaiya's arms. Kaiya let the girl hang from her shoulders while her legs wrapped around her waist. It amused Kaiya that her friend was like Spiderman.

"Alright Cam, get down. I do have a boyfriend and it is your brother." At this, Camden let go of Kaiya and fell on the ground with a disgusted look on her face.

"I just had the worst thought in the world." Camden said, working her way into the fetal position. "My brother _touches _you. Like gives you hugs, and-and you don't throw up or hurt him! You just hug him back! And you two _kiss!_" The thought of her brother in a romantic relationship made her shudder, but the thought of him kissing someone, especially her friend, grossed her out to the point of vomitation.

Kaiya helped Camden up off the ground. "Yes, people in relationships do tend to do that." Kaiya smiled. "And pretty soon, you might be too. Pretty boy, twelve-o-clock."

Camden rolled her eyes. She didn't need to turn around to know that Brandon was walking towards her. Now she did like Brandon, he was her friend. But she hated how everyone said they should date. They were _just friends. _Camden had to repeat the line so many times it made her sick to even have to think them. Even if she did think he was kind of cute, it would never work. Her dad wouldn't approve. "He's only been here for a week, Kaiya, let's let him be, okay?"

'Nope." Kaiya replied with a grin. "I have to go do, umm, stuff." She paused. "With your brother."

Camden threw her hands over her ears and felt Brandon appear at her side. "EWWW! KAIYA NO! BAD KAIYA!" She could hear Brandon chuckle. She rolled her eyes and let her hands fall and faced Brandon. "Here there kiddo."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kiddo? I believe that I'm older than you by a couple months."

"Yes, yes you are. But I have been here for six years. You have been here for 0.0082191780821918 years." Camden said, proud of her smart sounding words. For a second there, she fooled herself into thinking that she actually knew what she was talking about, and not just making up numbers.

Brandon didn't seem to find her performace quite as convincing. "Right, I've been here for three days. Anyways, I heard from one of the Demeter campers that you were one of the best people to come to for archery instructions."

Camden laughed. "Well, they lied. I suck. But yes, I would love to teach you. Now come, stand here." Camden motioned to the line she drew in the dirt for Kaiya to stand. Brandon looked reluctant, so Camden motioned him on more. "C'mon, it won't be that bad."

"Fine." He said, and made his way to the dirt line. "But if I kill someone under your instruction, I'm blaming you." His voice sounded dead serious, but the smile on his face told Camden he was joking. Besides, even if he wasn't, she wouldn't care. That deep voice was sexy.

She shrugged it off. "Eh, nothing new. Now place your feet there, and there." She kicked his heels, inching them towards there correct spot. "Now stand like this." She grabbed his shoulders in her hand, and moved them into the correct place. She liked how he tried to make his muscle flex, making him seem more muscular. "Stand straight, hold your head up. Yeah, like that."

"You're good at this." Brandon whispered, in that deep, hot voice.

Camden stood behind him, with her hands on her hips, and prayed to Aphrodite that the heat rushing to her face was not a blush. "Yeah, well, I've been here for a while. Now place the arrow on the bow, you know how to do that, right?" He nodded. "Alright, so pull the bow back as far as you can, and keep your first arm extended. Make sure your other arm is bent and in line with your ear." She grabbed his arm and ajusted it to its right position. "This arm has to be behind your head, which should be turned." Camden turned his head toward the target, and jerked his arm back. "That elbow has to be locked and tight." She pushed his other elbow straight. "Now all you have to do is let go." She whispered slowly, trying not to break his concentration.

Brandon let out a short sigh and let go. He didn't move an inch until the arrow landed just below one of Camden's. "Wow, I actually made it."

"Yeah, you have one of the best teachers ever." Camden said with a cocky smile. "And besides, Hermes kids tend to be good with archery too, just not as good as us. You just need a little bit more practice and then you'll be as good as me." She paused with a smile on her face. _"Almost _as good as me."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "In a few weeks, I'm going to take you up on that."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." A devious smile appeared on Camden's face. With a leap she grabbed Brandon's neck and swung around to his back, and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Go on, my noble steed!"

"You're not normal." He replied, laughing.

"Psh, you sound like my mom. Besides, being normal isn't fun." There was a lot more to that then there appeared, and Brandon could hear the tone of extreme sarcasim underneth her seemingly innocent words.

"Do you see your mom? I mean, go and live with her in the school year?" He realised he had never sked Camden, but then wondered if it was okay for him to asked. Right now she has a quiver on her back, and she can be scary. He started to walk towards the volleyball court, where there would be witnesses if she attack him.

"Yeah, I love my mom. A lot of kids here are bitter towards there mortal parents, but I can't imagine that. I love my mom, she helped me get through a lot when I was younger. She was always there for me."

"I thought people were bitter towards there godly parents." Brandon asked, jumping over a rock, making Camden's arms tighten around his neck, but then quickly loosen.

"A lot are. They think that they're godly parents ignore them, and don't care about them. That was a huge factor in the Titan War, a reason why we almost lost. There were a lot of demigods that weren't claimed, and they were angry towards there parent. They deserted us, their friends, and went to go fight for the Titans. That's why Percy asked all the gods to claim their children at an appropriate time. So, no one would feel bad enough to turn on us."

"What do you think?" Brandon asked softly.

Camden let out a long sigh. "My opinion wouldn't be fair. My dad has always treated my like a real daughter. He was there for me even before I knew about him, he came to my day care and played with me. I didn't even realize that until I was twelve. But he was always there for me, and he tries to be for all of his kids. I was lucky, I got a great dad. Then again, some kids wish that their godly parents would marry their mortal parents, but that's just being insensitive. That's something we all wish would happen, but the gods can't just go around and marry every demigod's parents. It's just rediculous to complain about something so unrealistic."

Something Camden said about her dad bothered him. _He was there for me. _Hermes was never there for Brandon, he's never even met his father. _Calm down, she said she was lucky. _She was lucky. Brandon wondered if she knew how much he would give up to have that kind of relationship with his dad. "Do you think I'll ever meet my dad?"

Camden sighed. "Call a daughter-of-Apollo's intuition, but I think you're going to be very important to your dad."

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**I am sorry I haven't updated soon, I feel like bird poop. But hey, it's not like I have that many readers to dissapoint any way. I would like to give a big thanks to patrishis, for making the character Kaiya, I think I'll do more with her. More contests are coming soon, so don't forget to review! I hope you enjoy!**


	4. Go Fish and Bad News 004

**A/N- Who's a terrible person? That's right! The person who always forgets to update their story! ME! I am so sorry I haven't been updating, I've had a wicked busy summer. I have work, cheerleading, gymnastics, and I have to find time to spend with my friends and family. I know, I know. Why do that when I can sit at my laptop and type fanfiction stories? Oh well, I hope this chapter is good and makes up for it. I might not be, I dunno, in the groove. I haven't writen in a while, so my writing pattern might be off, or something. I DUNNO! Just review and tell me if it sucks or not. That's all I ask. Enjoy! Hopefully...**

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"Do you have any threes?"

"Go fish." Pause. "Do you have any fours."

"Yep. Do you have any...sixes?"

"Go fish. Do you have any kings?"

"Alright, this game sucks!" Camden Walker said, throwing her cards down on the dock and took a large gulp of her Coke. Technically, soda of any kind was not allowed. Even those gross, knock off kinds that no one liked. But when one of your best friends is a son of Hermes, god of theives, you find it easy to sneak a little treat in now and again. Or every day, in Camden's case.

"You're only saying that becaues I keep winning." Brandon Anderson replied with a large smile. "So, are you going to give me your kings or not?" He asked, with one of those trademark Hermes smirks. The one that says, 'I'm about to do something that's going to be really awesome but it will most likely get me and probably you into a lot of trouble.'

Camden looked around her. It was their free hour, and they were sitting on the dock. The water was rocking them gentley back and forth, and it was, as always, perfect weather. It was just after noon time, perfect for a free hour, because you get to rest after lunch. "How bout we play a different game?" She said, throwing her two kings down.

"Not until I win. Got any sevens?"

"It was my turn, by the way, you filfthy cheater. No wonder your'e winning." Camden said, standing. "And I was pretty sure, the first day you came here, I told you the Apollo cabin was undeafted in volleyball."

"Yes."

"And then you said, 'Is that a challenge?'."

"Yes, I believe I did."

"Then I told you that, no, it was not a challenge because we didn't know who your dad was, and you said that when you know who your dad is, you'd take me up on that." She paused for a dramatic effect. "You know who your father is, and it's not Apollo."

Brandon smiled at her. It might have been a bad time, but for the first time he looked at her, really really looked at her. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun, and strands were falling all over her face. When she smirked, big dimples appeared in the middle of her cheecks, or when she made any type of face, really. Her skin was sun kissed, like someone who might have lived in Florida their whole live, not New England. When the sun shone on her skin, she glowed. Her blue eyes were bright, changing shades when the light reflects on them. The sleeves on her orange shirt were rolled up to the shoulders and tied there with yellow duck tape. She had on blue cotton shorts and Nikes. Her arms and legs were slender, but he could clearly tell she was packed wtih muscle from all of her years training here. He had also seen her play volleyball, and it was scary. "That was two weeks ago, Camden."

She rolled her eyes. "Time doesn't matter to me. All that does matter is that my awesomeness was challenged and I want to prove you wrong." She held her hand out from him to grab, but he ignored it with an eye roll and got up himself. "Plus, I would love to publicly humiliate you."

"Thanks, Cam."

"Any time, Bran." She started to walk away from the Long Island Sound. She sighed and looked back at the ocean. It was water from the Atlantic ocean. It was water that, if you traveled north, would bring you to Boston. It was the same water that stretched to the Cape. It was the same water that she would swim in during the summer in her grandparents beach house. It was the same water the ferrie she took from Boston to Provincetown glided on. It was the same water that was in the Boston Bay. But why did it seem so different?

"Do you miss Boston?" Brandon's voice appeared from her right, startling her back into New York.

"Yeah, it's just that it's so different from any part of New York. I get so homesick here."

"I know what you mean. I've only been here for two weeks and I already miss home. And I live in New York." Brandon said, throwing his arm aorund Camden's shoudlers.

She took his arm and put it back on his side with an eye roll. "Stupid Yankees fan."

"Actually I'm a Mets fan."

Camden seemed to consider that. "Well, then I guess your not all that awful." She sighed again and looked back toward the water. "You ever been to Boston?"

"Nah, I've never left New York. But I bet that if your from Boston, it's a pretty cool place." Brandon said quietley, and put his arm back over her shoudlers. This time she didn't even push it off. She just grabbed his hand and leaned her head against his shoudler. They stayed like that while they walked toward the direction of the Big House. When they passed the cabins, Kaiya Ortiz, the dear child of Hephaestus, giggled and grinned at Camden while Will Solice held her hand and glared at Brandon. They still went ignored.

"Brandon?"

"Yes, Cam?"

"Wanna be amazing and give me a biggie back ride?" Camden asked in a sweet voice, trying to put on her best puppy dog face. Brandon rolled his eyes and picked her up by the legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her chin on his shoulders. "Thanks, Bran-Bran."

"Bran-Bran? Are you serious? Is that the best you can come up with?" He said with a smile on his face. Camden could hear it in his voice.

"Um, yes. Do you know how impossible it is to come up with a nickname for you? You're normal, you're not bad looking, you don't fight awfully, you've never had an embarassing moment, and your relatively not bad smelling!"

"So, I'm not bad looking?" He asked, with a little tone of cockiness. Camden removed her arm and poked him in the stomach. "Ow! Alright, well, no one's ever given me a nickname before. Can't help you there. Do you have a nickname?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. My brothers call me Eastie, because my mom owns a coffee and book shop in East Boston, and we live in an apartment above it. My sisters call me Camasourus because when I was ten, I would run around the Apollo cabin sayin, I'm Cam the dinosaur." Camden smiled, she had actually wanted people to call her "The Camsta!"

"You know what I just noticed about you?"

"What?"

"You have the most adorable Boston accent." He smiled when she poked his stomach again. "It's not even a full Boston accent, mostly a New England accent, but there's definatley a Boston one in there."

"There's a difference between a Boston accent and a New England accent?" Camden asked as she hopped down from Brandon's back when they reached their destinstion. She walked to the other side of the court and picked up the ball.

"Appearntly." Brandon said, taking his spot in the middle of his side. He watched at Camden threw the ball up in the air, and hit it. It went soaring onto Brandon's side of the court. He ran and hit it, sending back over to Camden. The game went on back and forth like this for about ten minuets. No one scoring, both not daring to break concentration. They both had advantages. Seeing that Hermes was the god of athletics, it was easy from Brandon to perform. Seeing that it was just before sunset, the sun was shining bright, right in Brandon's eyes, making it harder for him to see. It was like Apollo and Hermes were watching, and they each wanted their own child to win.

Chiron trotted up to the game, watching with a grim smile on his face. Neither of the two seemed to notice him. Brandon was trying to block the sun from his eyes, and Camden was trying her hardest to appear like she wasn't trying at all to win. "Brandon, Camden, I need you two to come with me. We need to have a talk."

The ball was flying towards Brandon when Chiron finished his sentence. "Time out!" Brandon called, making sure Camden herd before he caught the ball and dropped it on the ground. "Alright, what's up?"

Camden moved closer to the net and leaned against the pole. She's been here long enough to know when something's not right. She's seen it in action far too many times, as well. "There's something wrong on Olympus, isn't there?"

Chiron sighed, and looked down at his, erm, hooves. He knew that this would be hard for Camden. "You better come inside. Follow me." Brandon and Camden shared a worried look, but continued on to follow. They walked slowly behind Chiron, and with each step they inched closer to each other. They made their way to the meeting room, and sat around the ping pong table. "Camden, you're right. There is some problems."

"Well, what's happened. We don't have any evil beings trying to rise and destroy the gods again, do we?" Camden asked, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The Titan War was the worst experience in her life. The bead with the Empire State Building seemed to weight ten times more, and she thought about how, in tiny letters, the name _Lee Fletcher _was on that bead. If she, or any of the campers, had to go through that again, they would fall apart.

"I certainly hope not, and I don't believe that that's what's happening. As you know, the summer solstice is in a week. You also know that during the summer solstive, the gods have a meeting up on Olympus. All of the gods need to be there."

"Except Hades." Brandon threw in there, wanting to show that he knew something about this conversation.

"Except Hades." Chiron confirmed. "Anyways, all of the gods need to be accounted for. One god, however, hasn't been seen for a couple of days. All of the gods, even Hades, have been searching for him. Poseidon has searched all the seas, Hades has searched the entire Underworld, and Zeus has searched the sky. Nymph and satyrs have been informed of his absence, and are currently searching every where. Aeolus has all of the winds gods looking for him, but he's no where to be seen. We're afraid he might even be in the Laybrinth, being held captive."

Camden's eyes widen at this. "A god's is missing? And he might be in the Laybrinth? Which god is it? Ares? I bet it's Hephaestus, no one ever knows where he is."

"If no one ever knows where he is, how would they notice that he's gone?" Brandon asked, trying to sound smart and reasonable. Besides, he had a feeling he knew which god it was.

"That is an exellent point, Brandon. Anyways, I know that this is a lot to ask, but by a special request from Zeus, you two need to go on a quest to find him. You are, of course, going to have to bring a third person, but Zeus made sure it was you two that went."

"Chiron, I would love to go and help find this god, but you need to tell me which god it is." Camden asked, getting impatient. She had a feeling, a gut feeling in her stomach that she knew who it was.

Chiron gave a grim smile to the girl in front of him. He remebered when she came here when she was nine, she was so scared and alone. He'd watch her grow, become strong, he'd watch her become a warrior. He felt like bringing in Dionysus to break the bad news, he never really cared about how it affected the news receiver, just that they found out. That would be a whole lot easier than telling her now, but its what had to be done. "Camden, it's your father. Apollo's gone missing."

It was like the first time she climbed the rock wall. The lava was right below her, she could feel the heat coming from it. Her hands were shaking, she was terrified. Camden tried to follow the motions she was taught. Right hand up, right foot up, left hand up, left foot up. Her heart was beating and she just wanted to get it over with. She put her right hand on a little ledge, and secured it there. She went to move her right foot up, but her left one lost its footing and slipped. Her stomach dropped and her muscles tensed as her heart rate increased. Her insides were all jumbled up together and she could barely breathe. She got her footing back, but the feeling didn't go away.

That's how she felt when Chiron told her that her dad was missing.

To most demigods, that wouldn't be a big deal. They don't have close relationships with their goldy parent, and they couldn't really give a flying crap if they found out their parent was missing. Camden, on the other hand, was lucky. She got a god that cared about his children, she got a god that actually spent time to get to know his sons and daughters, and actually treated them like they were. It must have been the fates, evening everything out. Other demigods got a parent that couldn't care less and they get to stick around. Camden and her siblings got a great parent, and he goes missing.

Seems fair enough.

Brandon seemed to notice Camden's changed attitude. He never really knew how close she was to her dad, but he did know that they were. He grabbed her hand and gave her a sqeeze, and he herd a flow of air exit her. He liked having that effect. "Why do you need us to go?" He asked trying to steer to conversation away from Apollo.

Chiron sighed. "It's complicated, and I'm not exactly allowed to tell you anything. As usual, you'll have to consult the oracle, or Racheal, I guess you could say. You'll have to pack up, and I'm guessing that if Apollo is being held captive it's were there would be no sunlight. Pack for cold climates. And also, I don't want this spreading around camp. If people knew Apollo was missing there'd be rumors flying around about another war. As far as we know, there will be no war. We just need to find Apollo before the summer solstice. Camden, you can tell your siblings as long as your sure none of them will spread it around. But you have to be absolutley positive."

Camden nodded. "I'll just tell Will, he's the only one that needs to know and can keep it from other people. He's good at that." There was some dry humor in her voice as she spoke of her half-brother.

Chiron nodded, and clapped his hands together. "Alright, well I supose that's all you need to know. You will be leaving tomorrow, after everyone's asleep. We will inform the harpies, so they don't, well, eat you."

"That'd be nice."

"Thank you Chiron, I'm glad I get to help find him." Camden said, as she stood and turned to walk away with Brandon behind her, still holding his hand. From her tight grasp, Brandon could tell she wasn't letting go any time soon. Chiron nodded, and the two left the Big House and made their way to the volleyball court. They sat in the hot sand, neither of them felt like playing.

"Are you okay?" Brandon asked, his voice obviously filled with worry.

Camden simply shook her head. "Nope."

"Will you be okay?'

"Once we find that sorry bastard who kidnapped my dad, I'll be good." This shocked Brandon, he'd never heard Camden swear before. It sounded wrong, like such a mean word shouldn't be said in such a sweet voice. It would have been laughable, under different circumstances. Brandon just held her hand tighter, and gave her a soft smile. She would be okay. After she hurt someone.

Typical Camden.

* * *

**URGH! I hated that. I'm sorry if you also hated it, but it got the point acorss, so it's cool with me. This chapter was really hard for me to write, yet I have no idea why. I think it's just because of all the explaining. I'm not good with that. I'll be better once I get back to the action. **

**And hey, if anyone would like to write a prophecy for me, that'd be great! Because I've been trying, and I just can't do it! So, if you want to, write me one, and if I like it, I'll ask you to write me one. Thank you! **

**Have a fantastic day!**


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